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Maize - MON 810 harmful to aquatic life

November 2015

GM maize, 'MON 810', has the third highest number of
regulatory approvals globally.The
transgenic plants generate a look-alike bacterial protein, 'Cry1Ab', one of the
'Bt' insecticides, which targets specific pests.Cry1Ab was the first GM insecticide to be commercialised and is approved
for cultivation in the EU, although it has been prohibited in several Member
States due to concerns of a risk to biodiversity.

Unlike pesticidal sprays, the Cry1Ab protein is generated
continuously throughout the life-cycle of theGM maize, albeit in different quantities depending on the part of the
plant.Bt levels in the leaves, for
example, are much higher than in the kernels.This creates a variety of exposure scenarios for non-target animals
which might eat the maize or its debris in their environment.

Noting that adverse effects from Bt maize consumption have
been reported in aquatic non-target organisms, a team of scientists from Brazil
and Norway carried out a full-life-cycle experiment on chronic, high-dose
dietary exposure to maize-leaf.

Their experimental animal was Daphnia, a tiny shrimp-like
aquatic animal which feeds on suspended participate material such as plant
debris.It's used as a model organisms,
widely advocated and employed in international standards and protocols for
short-term (acute) and long-term (chronic) exposure studies for determining
substance toxicity, as well as more general model for studies of genomic,
ecological and evolutionary responses.Its life-span is around 40 days, making it highly suitable for such
investigations.

The team found that,although a reduced life-length and fertility of both GM-fed and non-GM-fed
Daphnia suggested maize leaf is a sub-optimal food for these animals, long-term
effects indicated harm.The GM-fed
Daphnia displayed a significantly smaller body size from about half-way through
their life onwards, and produced about 20% less total offspring. Dormant eggs (a
sign of environmental stress, such as pollution or food scarcity) were
significantly more likely to be produced by the GM-fed animals.

An inescapable conclusion is that GM maize leaves have
either nutritional effects, toxic effects, or both, in Daphnia.

A previous study which fed MON 810 maize kernels to Daphnia
found early onset of reproduction and reduced survival.This was surprising because the Cry1Ab
protein is present at a concentration about 30-fold lower in GM kernels
compared with the leaves.

These results, together, suggest the Bt protein itself isn't
toxic, but that other unintended nutritional or toxic effects may be present at
different concentrations in different parts of the GM maize.

Concern was voiced by the authors that, because plants won't
generate bacterial proteins, all safety studies on Cry1Ab have been conducted
using a purified bacterial version.Cry1Ab produced by a maize plant is always different, and, in the
case of MON 810, there is in fact an extra fragment of a Cry1Ab-related protein
being produced.The unintended bit was
found to be more resistant to digestion (a sign of greater toxic potential) and
has not been tested for any possible harmful effects.

There's a complexity of nutritional and toxic interactions
revealed by this Daphnia experiment which also casts doubt on the safety of the
many MON 810 hybrids, in which the Cry1Ab gene has been bred into
different genetic backgrounds, none of which have been tested.

OUR COMMENT

The need for each and every GM strain to be safety tested on
a true case-by-case basis, using life-long consumption and multiple end-points
has never been clearer.

Whatever's in MON 810 maize that's harming the Daphnia could
be harming our livestock too.Eating
produce from sickening animals which are killed before the symptoms become
obvious is not a healthy option.Point
this out to the Government food safety watch-dogs

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Formerly known as the Scottish Consumers Association for Natural Food, Pro-natural Food Scotland was formed in 1996 by a group of concerned people in Glasgow, Scotland. We are funded entirely by donation and run by volunteers. We network with, and support, all like-minded groups and individuals. Our objective is to empower by raising awareness.